Improbably, the Atlanta Falcons are going to the playoffs.
"Nobody outside this locker room thought we could beat the 49ers," linebacker Jessie Tuggle said. "We showed people we deserved to be in the playoffs."The Falcons, a 10-point underdog, upset San Francisco 28-27 with Bobby Hebert coming off the bench to throw two touchdown passes to Terance Mathis and a maligned defense made it stand.
"Making plays, I think that's what I have going for me," said Hebert, pressed into service when starter Jeff George left the field with a sprained neck with 1:53 remaining in the first half.
Snapping a string of three consecutive lopsided losses in the series, the Falcons (9-7) upset the defending Super Bowl champions despite another record-setting receiving day for the incomparable Jerry Rice.
Hebert threw a 7-yard pass to Mathis to give the Falcons a 22-21 lead in the third quarter. Then the same pair connected on a 37-yarder for the game-winner with 1:45 remaining.
"Hebert is a poised quarterback," 49ers coach George Seifert said. "He reads coverages well and has a good touch pass. He was not airing it out. We just were not making plays on the ball."
Hebert completed 17 of 27 passes for 197 yards.
Atlanta will be at Green Bay next Sunday. The 49ers have a first-round playoff bye.
The 49ers (11-5) could have clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a victory. But the Falcons clinched the game when Kevin Ross intercepted Steve Young's pass with 19 seconds remaining.
"To execute like we did offensively against a defense that may be the best in the league is a tribute to our guys," Falcons coach June Jones said. "We reached our goal and I thought that if we didn't make the playoffs, then we failed."
Rice caught 12 passes for 153 yards, giving him 122 for 1,848 yards in 16 games this season, breaking the old mark of 1,746 set by Houston's Charley Hennigan in a 14-game AFL season in 1961.
Rice also moved ahead of Art Monk for the most catches in a career with 942, breaking the record of 939. Monk added one more reception for Philadelphia on Sunday in a loss at Chicago.
"That's great," Rice said. "But I feel the most important thing is to win the game. I feel like we have something to prove now."
Rice also threw the first touchdown pass of his career on a reverse, hitting a wide open J.J. Stokes on a 41-yard pass late in the first quarter. Rice scored the first 49ers touchdown when he fell on Adam Walker's fumble in the end zone after Walker had taken a 5-yard pass from Young to the 1.
The Falcons also got in the record-setting act. Morten Andersen set a season mark for field goals of 50 or more yards with eight, kicking a 52-yarder in the first quarter and a 59-yarder - fourth longest in NFL history - just before halftime. He also kicked another from 28 yards.
Atlanta's other score came on a 12-yard pass from George to Eric Metcalf, who made a one-handed catch in the end zone, early in the second quarter.
San Francisco scored on its first three possessions, the third coming on a 1-yard run by Derek Loville to cap a 65-yard drive that featured Young's 57-yard pass to Rice to the Atlanta 8.
The 49ers never scored another touchdown, settling for Jeff Wilkins' field goals of 39 yards for a 24-22 lead early in the fourth, and a 32-yarder that stretched the lead to 27-22 just before Hebert engineered Atlanta's winning 80-yard drive.
"It didn't seem that we played up to the caliber that we are going to have to play if we expect to go beyond this next playoff game," Seifert said. "Our team is going to have to get its act together."
Packers 24, Steelers 19
At Green Bay, Wis., Yancey Thigpen's drop of a touchdown pass on fourth down with 11 seconds remaining gave Green Bay a victory, their first outright division title since 1972 and a home playoff game next weekend against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers (11-5) saw their eight-game winning streak come to a gut-wrenching end with quarterback Neil O'Donnell flat on his back in defeat and Thigpen on his knees in the end zone.
On fourth down from the Green Bay 6, Thigpen was open in the left corner of the end zone, but he dropped the game-winner, setting off a wild celebration of the record 60,649 fans at Lambeau Field who braved zero-degree wind chills.
Bears 20, Eagles 14
At Chicago, despite defeating Philadelphia, the Bears missed the NFL playoffs because Atlanta rallied to beat San Francisco. Chicago needed a loss or tie by Atlanta to qualify.
Chicago got two touchdown passes from Erik Kramer, 122 rushing yards from Rashaan Salaam and three sacks from Alonzo Spellman.
Kramer's scoring passes of 1 and 13 yards to Keith Jennings gave him 29 TD throws - one more than the team record Sid Luckman set in 1943. Kramer, 15-of-30 for 169 yards, already owned club records for attempts, completions and yards. He is the only NFL quarterback to play every snap for his team this season.
Broncos 31, Oakland 28
At Oakland, Calif., John Elway led Denver to 14 points in the final period, the last of them coming on Jason Elam's 37-yard field goal with 48 seconds left as Denver beat Oakland.
The Raiders, at one time 8-2, finished at 8-8 under first-year coach Mike White. It was their first year back in Oakland after 13 years in Los Angeles.
The Broncos (8-8) also ended the regular season at .500 under first-year coach Mike Shanahan, who engineered a season sweep over the team he once coached.
Dolphins 41, Rams 22
At St. Louis, Dan Marino threw two touchdown passes and Miami (9-7) scored three touchdowns after St. Louis turnovers to secure a victory.
The Dolphins then slipped into the final AFC playoff spot when Denver came from behind to defeat Oakland.
The Rams' once-promising chances disappeared before the opening kickoff when two parts of three-part scenario that needed to happen went against them as Atlanta and Chicago won. St. Louis (7-9) began the year 4-0 just as the Dolphins had, but was outscored an average of 35-19 in dropping five of the last six.
Marino hit Irving Fryar on a 6-yard pass and O.J. McDuffie from 7 yards in the first half as the Dolphins grabbed a 24-6 lead and held on for most of the second half. Marino was 23 of 35 for 290 yards with two interceptions.
Bengals 27, Vikings 24
At Cincinnati, Minnesota wasted a 21-point lead by allowing Cincinnati to rally for 24 consecutive points in the second half, capped by Doug Pelfrey's 51-yard field goal as time ran out.
The loss was almost anticlimactic for Minnesota (8-8), which was eliminated from playoff consideration as it set up for a second-and-goal play from the 7-yard line with 2:19 left. The scoreboard directly overhead flashed the final score that ended Minnesota's season: Chicago 20, Philadelphia 14.
A few minutes later, Fuad Reveiz missed a 25-yard field-goal attempt, the final bitter disappointment on a 23-degree afternoon. The Bengals then drove for Pelfrey's kick, allowing Cincinnati to match its biggest comeback in franchise history.
Saints 12, Jets 0
At East Rutherford, N.J., Jim Everett's fourth-quarter touchdown pass and Doug Brien's two field goals gave New Orleans a victory over woeful New York, but the Jets won the No. 1 draft pick next year when Jacksonville beat Cleveland.
By virtue of the league's worst record - and that includes two expansion teams - the Jets get the top pick in the '96 NFL draft. Adding insult to injury, the Jets were shut out for the first time this season and wound up with a league-low 233 points.
Oilers 28, Bills 17
At Orchard Park, N.Y., Houston's blitzing defense sacked rookie Todd Collins five times and Rodney Thomas scored two touchdowns in a victory over Buffalo in a game that meant virtually nothing.
The Oilers closed with a win in what is expected to be their final year representing Houston. Oilers owner Bud Adams is planning to move the franchise to Nashville by next year.
The Bills (10-6), who had already clinched the AFC East title, rested most of their regulars in preparation for the playoffs, beginning next week at Rich Stadium. The Houston game had no playoff implications.
Jaguars 24, Browns 21
At Jacksonville, Fla., in what may have been the final game for the proud Cleveland franchise before a move to Baltimore, Mike Hollis kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give Jacksonville the victory.
The game appeared set for overtime, extending the Browns' representation of Cleveland a bit longer. But Tim Jacobs was called for a 35-yard pass interference penalty, moving the Jaguars (4-12) to the Browns 20 with 16 seconds remaining.
One play later, Hollis attempted a 39-yard field goal that struck the right upright and bounced away while the Cleveland sideline celebrated. But several defenders had jumped across the line before the snap, giving Hollis another chance 5 yards closer. His next kick was straight down the middle on the final play.
Chiefs 26, Seahawks 3
At Kansas City, Mo., Tamarick Vanover's tone-setting, 89-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff sparked Kansas City (13-3) as it swamped Seattle, capping the finest regular season in franchise history and securing home field for as long as they're alive in the postseason.
Shunned by most preseason pollsters after Joe Montana's retirement, the surprising Chiefs swept 8-0 through the AFC West and established a franchise record with their NFL-best 13 wins.
The Seahawks (8-8), 2-6 in the first half of coach Dennis Erickson's first year, went 6-2 in the second half and would have made the playoffs by beating Kansas City and having Miami lose to St. Louis.
Redskins 20, Panthers 17
At Washington, stymied by the Carolina defense for nearly two quarters, Washington put together a lightning-fast, 93-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown for a victory.
The win brought a promising end to the Redskins' third straight season of double-digit losses. Washington (6-10) won three of its last four. Carolina (7-9) completed a historic season just one game short of becoming the only first-year expansion team in modern U.S. major professional sports not to finish with a losing record.